Sask Polytech’s hockey stick car revs up at world competition

A Saskatchewan school has revved up a worldwide competition with a car made partly out of hockey sticks.

Saskatchewan Polytechnic competed in the 2023 Shell Eco-marathon World Championship in Bangalore, India last week, becoming the only Canadian school to secure a spot in the finals this year.

The marathon brings together schools from around the world in a competition to create the most efficient vehicle with the best fuel mileage possible.

Vehicles compete with various engines like gasoline and diesel, or can incorporate battery-powered electric motors or hydrogen fuel cells.

Tyson Church was the team’s reserve driver for the competition in India. He explained that some of the competition’s challenges included a time trial and a Formula 1-style race.

The car, which was originally designed in September of last year, has gone through a complete reconstruction since then.

Staying true to Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Canadian roots, Church said carbon fibre hockey sticks were used to construct the entire frame of the car.

“Hockey sticks are fairly strong (and) they have a bit of flex,” Church said. “Having that little bit of flex is nice for certain bumps and areas on tracks.”

The vehicle’s asymmetrical design is another aspect that makes the car so efficient, Church explained, adding that it was different from any other car he saw at the competition.

Although a symmetrical design would have been easier to accomplish, computer simulations and analysis proved the asymmetrical design was more efficient, as it created the least amount of drag when coasting.

The Polytechnic car – which runs on gasoline – also has a 3D-printed body shell on it, with a low infill to make it more hollow.

Church said being in the driver’s seat for the challenge was a “pretty wild experience,” as he had almost no experience going into the competition and had to step in after the team’s main driver was unable to get a visa for travel to India.

He said the vehicle’s controls aren’t exactly simple, as the design is a mix between a bicycle and car. He explained that the driving style was also completely different from any previous experience he had.

“You do something called a burning coast, where you run the engine for a bit and then kill the engine, and then coast for a while,” he explained. “To go from next-to-no experience to racing on a world championship level was quite a jump and quite stressful, but it was an amazing experience.”

The Saskatchewan school’s team tied for eighth place in India, with a result of 214 kilometres per litre of gas. In April, the car placed first at the qualifying challenge in Indianapolis.

Once the car is shipped back from India, work will begin adjusting to correct some small issues the team faced during the finals, such as alignment and air-pressure leaks.

Saskatchewan Polytechnic has competed in the Eco-marathon since 2017, and this year is the second time the team has qualified for the world championship.